Caster



Aug. 22, 1939.

N. Y. ANDERSEN CASTER Filed Feb. 4, 1937 WWW Mlzlaiweflndemezz,

Patented Aug. 22, 1939 2,170,257

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIQE CASTER Niels Yde Andersen, Kenmore, N. Y., assignor to Remington Rand Inc., Buffalo, N, Y.

Application February 4, 1937, Serial No. 124,065

Claims. (01. 1631) This invention relates to casters, and paras can be determined by looking at Fig. 1 of the ticularly casters designed for use on chairs and drawing. other similar articles of furniture. The caster comprises a stem 2 rotatably mount- The invention comprehends the provision of a ed in socket 3 having a ball bearing assembly 5 caster that is provided with a housing for the 4 at the lower end, as shown in Fig. 2. This 5 supporting wheel, so constructed that it will oversocket construction is of conventional form well come the disadvantages of previous caster conknown in the art. struotions, by substantially eliminating the mar- The usual horn is replaced by caster housing ring of objects with which the casters may come 5 in the present invention. Caster housing 5 in contact, the scuffing of shoes, and in addition, is formed to provide side walls 6, end walls 1, .Will provide a caster construction having a. houst p Wal 8 and an p n bottom as a y sh wn ing to replace the usual horn that will not become by the drawing- Th housing is formed w t a deformed in the use of the casterwith excessive small cylindr c neck 9 at One Side Of e D weight, and a housing structure that will present portion to provide a small opening whose axis a new and pleasing appearance. is offset from the axis or center of the larger The invention further comprehends the prop n g at the bOttOm 0f the hOIlSiIlg as wn vision of a caster construction using a housing by Fig- A p g mounted- W th e k 9 with suitable means for detachably mounting the as shown in Fig. 2, and receives stem 2 for wheel therein, in which the wheel mounting rigidly mounting th Stem 011 the housingmeans may 'be entirely concealed within the hous- Side walls 6 have the inner faces formed with 0 ing with the wheel so that only a very small inwardly extending projections ll recessed to portion of the periphery of the wheel projects beprovide sockets [2 for receiving opposite ends of low the housing for rolling contact with a' floor axle [3. Below socket l2 projections H are surface. formed withchannels l4 extending parallel with In the drawing the bottom edge of the housing as clearly shown 25 Fig. 1 shows the invention applied to a fragin Fig. 2, while vertical slotted portions 15 are mentary portion of the leg of a piece of furnialigned with sockets [2 so the axle may be reture, in perspective, 7 moved from the sockets in a convenient manner.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section taken on line Axle l3 rotatably mounts caster wheel I6 which 2-2 of Fig. 3, through the caster shown in Fig. is almost completely housed within casing 5 as 30 1 removed from the furniture leg with the stem illustrated in the drawing, in such a way that and portions of the socket shown in elevation. only a small segment of the periphery of the Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross section taken on wheel projects outwardly through the bottom of line 3-3 of Fig. 2. v the housing for peripheral'engagement with a Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section taken on line floor surface or other supporting surface indi- 35 4-4 of Fig. 2. cated by the dot and dash lines in the drawing at Fig. 5 shows the axle retaining member in H. Axle I3 is retained in'its socket by means perspective. of a retainer member or means in the form of Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modified form leaf spring member N3 of U-shaped construction 40 of caster made according to the invention with that has its end portions engaged at opposite 40 portions broken away and shown in section and sides of wheel [6 in channels l4. Retaining memthe wheel shown in dot and dash lines. ber I8 is held in position in channels M by Fig. '7 is a bottom plan view of the caster shown means of projections IS on opposite ends thereof in Fig. 6. engaging in slots l5 as clearly shown in Figs. 2

Fig. 8 is a vertical cross section taken on and. 4. The spring or retaining member l8 nor- 45 line 88 of Fig. 6.. mally assumes the position shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of another modified must have the ends brought toward one another form of caster construction showing portions before it can be inserted in the housin to eta n broken away to illustrate a slightly different the axle in the socket. This retaining member form of securing means for the axle. is engaged in the housing by drawing the ends 50 The leg of a piece of furniture such as a posture together in this manner and sliding these ends chair, or the like, has. the end portion indicated in the open bottom of the housing along the inat l in Fig. 1. Leg l mounts the caster construcner faces of projections ll until the ends registion of the present invention on the lower end ter with channels l4 when they will immediately 5 5 to provide a new and novel appearance in casters drop into channels [4 in the mannershown in Fig, 2, projections [9 of course being aligned with slots 15. This will rigidly retain axle l3 in socket l2 and when it is desired to remove the axle from the housing, retaining member [8 may be readily removed by using a pair of thin blade members such as knife blades or an instrument similar to a pair of tweezers, inserting the end in slots l5 outside of projections 19 and then by forcing the projections l9 against the sides of wheel iii the ends of retaining member [8 are drawn inwardly toward each other to a position inwardly of the ends of projections ll. In this position the retaining member may be removed from the housing so as to provide for the removal of wheel l6 and axle I3.

The modified form of invention shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 has the housing constructed in the same manner as housing 5 except that instead of having projections II on the inner faces of the side walls, the projections on the inner faces of the side walls indicated at 2! are of different structure than projections ll, so as to provide a rib 22 spaced inwardly from the bottom edge of the side walls and substantially parallel thereto, with laterally extending portions 23 at one end of each rib 22 terminating in enlarged projec tions 24 having a portion thereof projecting in spaced parallel relation with rib 22 to form. a socket or seat 25 for receiving the ends of axle 26 rotatably mounting wheel 21. Enlarged portion 24 of projection 21 is formed with a screw threaded bore threadedly receiving retaining screw 28. As shown. in the drawing, screw 28 is engaged in enlarged portion 24 from the bottom edge of the housing and extends vertically so as to engage the lower portion of axle 26, as shown in Fig; 6, when it is engaged in seat 25 for firmly forcing the end of the axle against rib 22 and rigidly retaining the same in the seat. The screws are operated by a screw driver in the usual manner and it is obvious that when the screws are loosened the axle may be moved horizontally parallel to the bottom edge of the. housing until the ends of axle 26 are disengaged fromv seats 25 whereupon the axle may be removed from the housing with wheel .21. Sufficient clearance is provided at the end of the housing to provide for this lateral movement of the axle and its wheel for engagement and disengagement of the ends of the axle in seats 25 on opposite side walls.

Figure 9 illustrates a housing constructed in a manner similar to that above described having side walls 30 formed with apertures 3| adapted to receive axle 32 therein. Axle 32 has a reduced end 33 and one of the apertures 3| is smaller than the other so that the axle is inserted first through the larger aperture, then through wheel 34 so as to engage reduced end 33 in the smaller aperture, into the position shown in Fig. 9. Then by providing'a riveting operation on the end of reduced end 33 a head is formed as indicated at 35 serving to retain the axle against removal through apertures 3! unless forcibly driven therethrough by suitable means well knownin the art; Axle 32 is normally not detachable from the housing in the manner of the axles shown in the preceding figures of the drawing and described above, but may be removed in the manner described and replaced with a new axle whenever it may be desired to replace wheel 34.

It will be noted from the drawing that each of the side and end walls, as well as the top wall, are of curved formation for the most part, so

that the edges of the various walls merge one into the other to provide a dome-shaped housing structure having rounded sides, ends and edges in keeping with modern features of design. This housing structure in being formed in this manner, not only presents a new and novel appearance in caster structure, but provides a rigid wheel supporting housing that can not easily be deformed. One of the common troubles overcome by this housing structure, in eliminating the usual horn used in casters, is elimination of the trouble caused by the horn becoming deformed. The invention provides in this housing structure a means for almost entirely concealing the wheel so that it can not come in contact with the shoes or clothes of users of furniture equipped therewith, and the housing eliminates sharp edges and corners to prevent clothes from catching and thereby effectively guards against damaging objects which may come in contact with the housing or caster assembly. The: axle is mounted in the housing in a plane offset from the stern so that the housing can readily rotate with the stem in following the motion of the piece of furniture over a floor surface or the like to provide for the free movement of the furniture. The invention further provides novel retaining means for the caster wheel and axle accessible only from the bottom of the housing and thereby normally conceals such securing means from view.

The invention claimed is:

l. A caster, comprising a stem, a housing mounted on said stem having side walls, one or more end walls and open at the bottom, a wheel within said housing having only a minor peripheral portion projecting outwardly beyond the bottom of said side walls for peripheral surface contact with a supporting surface, an axle extending transversely between said side walls rotatably mounting said wheel, projections extending inwardly on the inner faces of said side walls forming sockets for receiving the ends of said axle at opposite sides of said wheel, and means locking said axle ends in said sockets.

2. A caster, comprising a stem, a housing mounted on said stem having side walls, one or 7 more end walls and open at the bottom, a wheel Within said housing having only a. minor peripheral portion projecting outwardly beyond the bottom of said side Walls for peripheral surface contact with a supporting surface, an axle extending transversely between said side walls rotatably mounting said wheel, means formed on and projecting inwardly from the inner faces of said side walls receiving the ends of said axle, and means detachably mounted on said last-named means for retaining said axle ends engaged in. said receiving means.

3. A caster, comprising a stem, a housing mounted on said stem having side walls, one or more end walls and open at the bottom, a wheel within said housing having only a minor peripheral portion projecting outwardly beyond the bottom of said side walls for peripheral surface contact with a supporting surface, an axle extending transversely between said side walls rotatably mounting said wheel, sockets provided on the inner sides of said side walls for receiving opposite ends of said axle, and a flexible member having interlocking engagement with portions on the inner sides of said side walls for retaining said axle engaged in said sockets.

4. A caster comprising a stem, a housing mounted on said stem having side walls, one or more end walls and open at the bottom, a wheel within said housing having only a minor peripheral portion projecting outwardly beyond the bottom of said side walls for peripheral surface contact with a supporting surface, an axle extending transversely between said side walls rotatably mounting said wheel, projections extending inwardly from the inner faces of said side walls to form sockets for detachably receiving the ends of said axle, and a resilient strip member formed with opposite ends cooperating with portions of said projections on each side wall for retaining said axle ends in said sockets.

5. A caster comprising a stem, a housing mounted on said stem having side walls, one or more end walls and open at the bottom, a wheel within said housing having only a minor peripheral portion projecting outwardly beyond the bottom of said side walls for peripheral surface contact with a supporting surface, an axle extending transversely between said side walls rotatably mounting said wheel, projections extending inwardly from the inner faces of said side walls to form sockets to receive opposite ends of said axle, said projections having slots extending along the inner faces of said side walls from said seats and opening at the bottom of said housing and transverse slots parallel with the bottom edge of the housing, and a resilient U-shaped strip member having its ends engaged in said transverse slots on the inner faces of opposite side walls and resiliently interlocked with said projections to retain said axle ends in said sockets.

' NIELS YDE ANDERSEN. 

